The first taste of fall

The Waynesboro and Wilson football players got their first chance to hit someone wearing a different color jersey on Friday night and showed signs of life that their coaches were looking for.

The two Southern Valley District schools each scrimmaged Bath County and Staunton River for several series and, while it is still early in the season, fans got their first glimpse of what the teams’ makeup will look like.

Waynesboro unveiled its new offense, a pistol, and put Tanner Walter and Tyler Briggs each under center for a series.

“We are still learning this offense,” said Waynesboro coach Steve Isaacs. “We aren’t even a week and a half into it, so we will be alright.”

Isaacs said the biggest problem the Little Giants face is their offensive line, but he believes the problems can be corrected before the team’s first game on Aug. 28 at Western Albemarle.

“I think our biggest thing is our offensive linemen reading the defense,” Isaacs said “The decision the running backs make depends on what the line gives them. Bath was standing up and bringing their tackles in hard. We didn’t adjust to it the first series, but then when we went goal line, we talked and they fixed it. The more comfortable they get, the better they are.”

The one thing the Little Giants have is running backs. This season at least three players will see regular action in the position.

“We are probably further along at this point than I expected us to be,” Isaacs said.

Isaacs was impressed with the team’s attitude on the field.

“I saw a lot of things today that I haven’t seen in the past few years,” he said. “We were aggressive, we were gang tackling, had a lot of enthusiasm.”

The Green Hornets showed off a quick passing game on Friday, led by junior Jake Bailey at quarterback. In his first series on the field against Staunton River, Bailey completed four passes, including a touchdown. Each team had only 12 plays on offense per series. Bailey did throw one interception, but quickly recovered with a scoring drive.

“He’s matured a lot,” said Wilson offensive coordinator Jeremiah Major. “He worked hard in the off season. he worked his tail off and it showed.”

Malik Rucks handled most of the running duties for the Green Hornets’ first-team offense and also put together a string of strong runs that put Wilson into the end zone.

“He fumbled early, but right after that I wanted to give it back to him,” Major said. “He did good. He’s got to learn to have a little more patience, but once he gains that patience, learns the speed of the game, he will be just fine.”

Wilson’s defense has been the team’s strong point for the last several seasons, and on Friday the defense again looked like a brick wall.

“I think we did a good job of getting after the football,” said defensive coordinator Brian Cash. “I thought we lined up correctly and, overall, for the first scrimmage we did a good job, but there is always room for improvement.”

Wilson coach Derek McDaniel was hesitant to make too quick of a judgment about the team’s overall performance, but said that he thinks all of the mistakes the Hornets made are correctable.

“We are still looking at things and making adjustments,” he said. “As an early scrimmage, I was pleased with our effort. Our defense is getting to the football, our offense is moving. Once those guys learn their technique and get their discipline, we are going to be OK.”

Wilson will play its first game on Sept. 4 at Stonewall Jackson.